Thursday Evenings at All Hallows (Thursday, November 21, 2024)

Welcome to Thursday Evenings at All Hallows.

The Sunday after next Sunday is the first Sunday of Advent, a season of the Church Year in which Christians not only prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus but also look forward to the day of his second coming when he will return in glory.

In this Thursday evening’s message, we reflect on an important part of every Christian’s calling—being an ambassador for Jesus.

GATHERING IN GOD’S NAME

Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness; let the whole earth stand in awe. Psalm 96:9

Open this link in a new tab to hear Fernando Ortega and Mac Powell’s Our Great God.”

Verse One
Eternal God, unchanging,
Mysterious and unknown;
Your boundless love, unfailing,
In grace and mercy shown.
Bright seraphim in ceaseless flight
Around Your glorious throne;
They raise their voices day
And night in praise to You alone!

Chorus
Hallelujah! Glory be to our great God!
Hallelujah! Glory be to our great God!

Verse Two
Lord, we are weak and frail
And are helpless in the storm;
Surround us with Your angels
And hold us in Your arms.
Our cold and ruthless enemy,
His pleasure is our harm.
Rise up, O Lord, and he will flee
Before our sovereign God.

Chorus
Hallelujah! Glory be to our great God!
Hallelujah! Glory be to our great God!

Verse Three
Let every creature in the sea
And every flying bird,
Let every mountain, every field,
And valley of the earth,
Let all the moons and all the stars
In all the universe
Sing praises to the living God
Who rules them by His Word.

Final Chorus
Hallelujah! Glory be to our great God!
Hallelujah! Glory be to our great God!
Hallelujah! Glory be to our great God!
Hallelujah! Glory be to our great God!

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves,
and the truth is not in us.
But if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just,
and will forgive our sins
and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1 John 1:8-9

Let us confess our sins to God our Father.

Silence

Heavenly Father,
we have sinned against you and against our neighbour
in thought and word and deed,
through negligence, through weakness,
through our own deliberate fault;
by what we have done
and by what we have failed to do.
We are truly sorry and repent of all our sins.
For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ who died for us,
forgive us all that is past;
and grant that we may serve you in newness of life
to the glory of your name. Amen.

Merciful Lord,
grant to your faithful people pardon and peace,
that we may be cleansed from all our sins,
and serve you with a quiet mind;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.


Open this link in a new tab to hear Liam Lawson’s “Canticle.”

Oo_____ oo_____ oo_____ oo_____

Great and wonderful are your deed, O Lord God, the Almighty.
Just and true are your ways, O King of the ages.

1 Who shall not fear and glorify your name,
for you alone are holy?
For you alone are holy.

Great and wonderful are your deed, O Lord God, the Almighty.
Just and true are your ways, O King of the ages.

All nations shall come and worship you,
for your judgments have been revealed.
For your judgments have been revealed.

Great and wonderful are your deed, O Lord God, the Almighty.
Just and true are your ways, O King of the ages.

Oo_____ oo_____ oo_____ oo_____

The Lord be with you.
The Lord bless you.

Let us pray.

Heavenly Father,
whose blessed Son was revealed to destroy the works of the devil
and to make us the children of God and heirs of eternal life:
Grant that we, having this hope,
may purify ourselves even as he is pure;
that when he shall appear in power and great glory,
we may be made like him
in his eternal and glorious kingdom;
where he is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.

THE MINISTRY OF THE WORD

Open this link in a new tab to hear Emma Turl’s “How Delightful Is Your Dwelling.”

1 How delightful is your dwelling,
O Almighty Sovereign Lord -
place of peace, where all my longings
are fulfilled, my soul restored.
Every fibre of my being
living God, calls out to you:
come revive me with your presence
and with hope my life renew!

2 This is where the tiny sparrow
near your altar finds her rest;
in a corner here the swallow
for her young prepares a nest.
So with all who find contentment
in your house, my God, my King,
may I also know your favour
and your praise for ever sing.

3 Blessed are all the pilgrim-hearted,
strengthened, so that as they go
arid land becomes a garden
where refreshing rivers flow.
On from strength to strength they journey
and at last arrive in heaven:
as we follow in their footsteps,
may your grace to us be given.

4 One day in your house is better
than a thousand spent elsewhere -
earth can offer no attraction
like the joy of serving there.
Sun to guide and shield to guard us
where your blessing is assured:
by your mercy keep us faithful
as we trust in you, O Lord!

A reading from the New Testament: 2 Corinthians 5: 11-21

Because we understand our fearful responsibility to the Lord, we work hard to persuade others. God knows we are sincere, and I hope you know this, too. Are we commending ourselves to you again? No, we are giving you a reason to be proud of us, so you can answer those who brag about having a spectacular ministry rather than having a sincere heart. If it seems we are crazy, it is to bring glory to God. And if we are in our right minds, it is for your benefit. Either way, Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.

So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.

Silence

May your word live in us
and bear much fruit to your glory.

Jesus’ Ambassadors

All Christians are called to be Jesus’ ambassadors to the world, representing him in the world in all manner of ways. We are called to be a means by which following Jesus as a disciple is recommended to others who are not Christians. This is why our words and our actions matter.

When Christians depart from the standards that Jesus established for his disciples through his teaching and example or even in an election give their support to someone who thinks, speaks, or acts not just differently from these standards but contrary to the standards, their words and actions raise questions as to how much Jesus is really the Lord of their lives.

We are not Christians because we were baptized as an infant or our family at one time attended a church. We are not Christians because we decided to identify ourselves as a Christian. We are Christians because we responded to Jesus’ call to follow him and became a disciple of Jesus, putting our trust in Jesus and his words, and framing and fashioning our lives according to Jesus’ teaching and example.

When our words and actions embody what Jesus taught and exemplified, we truly become Jesus’ ambassadors, not only representing him in the world but also recommending him to the world.

Silence

Open this link in a new tab to hear Bazi Baker, Mary Beattie, Andy Campbell, Chloe Williams and Jason Henderson’s “To Be Like You.”

Verse One
Jesus you delight in showing mercy
You have shared a table with a thief
You embrace the orphan and you say “now follow me...
I am fighting for the least of these”

Verse Two
You have graced this world with your forgiveness
You have turned the tables with a kiss
You have laid your life down and you say “now follow me...
You will find me with the least of these”

Chorus
To be like You, full of compassion
To be like You, Jesus
To do as You do, to love without measure
To be like You, Jesus

Verse Three
You are moved to heal the brokenhearted
You have laid a table for a feast
You invite the outcast and you say “now come and eat...
There’s enough to fill your every need”
You're enough to fill our every need

Chorus
To be like You, full of compassion
To be like You, Jesus
To do as You do, to love without measure
To be like You, Jesus

Bridge
And let our lives be a pure reflection of You God
The thoughts of our hearts
And the words of our mouths be of You
And let our lives be a pure reflection of You God
The thoughts of our hearts
And the words of our mouths be of You
And let our lives be a pure reflection of You God
The thoughts of our hearts
And the words of our mouths be of You
And let our lives be a pure reflection of You God
The thoughts of our hearts
And the words of our mouths be of You

Chorus
To be like You, full of compassion
To be like You, Jesus
To do as You do, to love without measure
To be like You, Jesus

Outro
To do as You do, to love without measure
To be like You, Jesus

Let us confess our faith, as we say.

I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.

THE MINISTRY OF PRAYER

Almighty and everliving God,
hear the prayers which we offer in faith and love:

For peace, and for your salvation to be known throughout the world …

Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer.

For the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church
and for the unity of all Christian people …

Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer.

For all who serve and lead in your Church,
for bishops, elders, deacons, and licensed local pastors …

Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer.

For all your people, growing in the faith of Christ,
and passing it on to generations yet to come …

Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer.

For all who live and work in this community …

Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer.

For families, and for those who live alone …

Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer.

For all who are sick in body or in mind,
and for those who care for them …

Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer.

For all in authority,
and especially for [Canada Charles our King [USA our President] …

Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer.

For all who have been entrusted with the responsibility of government …
For those who work for peace, justice and righteousness throughout the
world …

Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer.

Rejoicing in the fellowship of your holy apostles and martyrs, and of all
your servants departed this life in your faith and fear, we commend ourselves and one another and our whole life to you, Lord God; through
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Accept our prayers through Jesus Christ our Lord, who taught us to pray:

Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.

Open this link in a new tab to hear Chris de Silva’s “Love, Burn Bright.”

Christ our Light, illuminate every path that leads to you.
Give us grace, Lord, guide our way: Love, burn bright.
In your light, Lord, every day, every way, we follow you.
Grant us peace to journey through: Love, burn bright.

1 From the shadows of the night, to your holiness and light:
May your love burn bright within our heart.
From the hatred born of fear, to your love that holds us near:
May your love burn bright within our heart.

Christ our Light, illuminate every path that leads to you.
Give us grace, Lord, guide our way: Love, burn bright.
In your light, Lord, every day, every way, we follow you.
Grant us peace to journey through: Love, burn bright.

2 In our words that tear apart, place a reconciling heart:
May your love burn bright within our heart.
In our wounds of war and strife, place your promise of new life:
May your love burn bright within our heart.

Christ our Light, illuminate every path that leads to you.
Give us grace, Lord, guide our way: Love, burn bright.
In your light, Lord, every day, every way, we follow you.
Grant us peace to journey through: Love, burn bright.

3 Where there’s doubt, uncertainty, let us witness faithfully:
May your love burn bright within our heart.
Where there’s sadness, poverty, let us reach out willingly:
May your love burn bright within our heart.

Christ our Light, illuminate every path that leads to you.
Give us grace, Lord, guide our way: Love, burn bright.
In your light, Lord, every day, every way, we follow you.
Grant us peace to journey through: Love, burn bright.
Love, burn bright. Love, burn bright.

THE SENDING FORTH OF GOD’S PEOPLE

In darkness and in light,
in trouble and in joy,
help us, heavenly Father,
to trust your love,
to serve your purpose,
and to praise your name,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Those present may extend their palms toward each other in a gesture of blessing.

May Almighty God, Father, Sn, and Holy Spirit, bless and keep you. Amen.

The peace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you always.
And also with you.

Those present may exchange a gesture of peace with these or similar words:
Peace be with you.